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Questions about using corn meal
mpietropaoli:
Ok somehow in my house we have accumulated about 4 lbs of cornmeal (I think there have been a few times when making cornbread where my wife would just buy a new package.
In 40 brews, I have brewed one cream ale that I liked. This past weekend I brewed a faux CAP that I am really psyched about. Took a preliminary sample to see where I was in the ferment and it is already tasting pretty darn good.
I want to brew Your Father's Moustache soon, but I can already see myself becoming obsessed with this style and beers based off of it.
Anyway, I would love to use this cornmeal I have in a simple lightish drinker with some good saaz character.
-Does corn meal go stale? I know its something to do with whether the germ is removed or if they're steel cut or otherwise (?) Google is not yielding good information on this, but some of this corn meal was bought a year ago or so.
-Do I have to do a cereal mash with cornmeal? If it helps or makes a difference, I typically brew in a bag (so gluey mash shouldn't be a huge issue), 5 gal batches
-Is this corn meal better suited to make a bunch of corn bread for a homeless shelter?
hopfenundmalz:
Cornmeal can go rancid, so let your nose be the guide on weather to use it. Did your wife buy new for a reason, or just forgot she had it on hand?
You need to do a cereal mash, as that gelatinizes the starch, allowing the enzymes to get in and do the work converting starch to sugars. The gelatinization temp of corn is fairly high, so that is why you boil it to break up the starch granules. If not you will have lower efficiency and starch in your beer.
For the price of the cornmeal, I would buy some fresh. That is what I did for the CAP that is lagering now.
anje:
It can also magically have bugs appear in it. Take a good long look at it before using it, as a general rule.
/hates flour beetles.
mpietropaoli:
--- Quote from: hopfenundmalz on January 31, 2013, 07:17:07 AM ---Cornmeal can go rancid, so let your nose be the guide on weather to use it. Did your wife buy new for a reason, or just forgot she had it on hand?
You need to do a cereal mash, as that gelatinizes the starch, allowing the enzymes to get in and do the work converting starch to sugars. The gelatinization temp of corn is fairly high, so that is why you boil it to break up the starch granules. If not you will have lower efficiency and starch in your beer.
For the price of the cornmeal, I would buy some fresh. That is what I did for the CAP that is lagering now.
--- End quote ---
Forgot she had it on hand. I also have this obsession as of late to use ingredients I have on hand. Will give the packages a sniff and a sift and see if they are good to go. Thanks for the responses!
mtnrockhopper:
--- Quote from: anje on January 31, 2013, 02:46:04 PM ---It can also magically have bugs appear in it. Take a good long look at it before using it, as a general rule.
/hates flour beetles.
--- End quote ---
Mmmmm Coleoptera Cream Ale - The protein might help with head retention?
Actually, corn meal probably contains a percentage of beetle parts already.
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